Irwin's 'stinging death'
September 5th 2006

Videotape of the moment Steve Irwin was hit by a stingray's tail shows the Australian naturalist pulling the barb from his chest, his manager has said.

"The tail came up, and spiked him here [in the chest], and he pulled it out and the next minute, he's gone," Mr Irwin's manager, John Stainton, said.

Queensland state police have now taken the tape to be used in an inquest into the incident on the Great Barrier Reef.

The much-loved TV star could be given a state funeral if his family agree.

Throughout Monday and Tuesday thousands of fans gathered at Mr Irwin's zoo in Beerwah on Australia's sunshine coast to lay flowers and write messages of condolence.

On Tuesday, Australia's federal parliament paused to honour Mr Irwin, whom Prime Minister John Howard said had died in "quintessentially Australian circumstances".

It was a hard thing to watch because you are actually watching a person die

Steve Irwin's manager John Stainton

Mr Howard quoted Australian-based actor Russell Crowe, who had paid tribute to Mr Irwin earlier by saying: "Steve Irwin was the Australian many of us aspire to be."

Mr Irwin had been in the water at Batt Reef, off the resort town of Port Douglas about 100km (62 miles) north of Cairns, filming bull stingrays for a TV documentary called Ocean's Deadliest.

'It probably felt threatened'

Cameraman Ben Cropp, who was also on the reef when Mr Irwin was killed on Monday, spoke to a member of the production crew who had seen the footage of the incident.

"He was up in the shallow water, probably 1.5m to 2m deep, following a bull ray which was about a metre across the body - probably weighing about 100kg, and it had quite a large spine," Mr Cropp told The Australian newspaper.

STINGRAYS

Southern stingray (Dasyatis americana). Copyright Science Photo Library

Members of the Dasyatidae family of cartilaginous fish, with about 70 species worldwide. Mostly found in tropical seas, but exist in freshwater too

Feed primarily on molluscs and crustaceans on sea floor. Swim with flying motion using large pectoral wings Usually docile, not known to attack aggressively. Equipped with venom-coated razor-sharp barbed or serrated tail, up to 20cm long "It stopped and went into a defensive mode and swung its tail with the spike. It probably felt threatened because Steve was alongside and there was the cameraman ahead, and it felt there was danger and it baulked."

Though armed with a venom-coated, sharp barb on their tail, stingrays only use the weapon defensively and attacks on humans are extremely rare.

Appearing on ABC News, Mr Stainton, who was with the TV crew on the reef, described watching the footage of the incident as a "terrible" experience.

"It was a hard thing to watch because you are actually watching a person die," Mr Stainton said.

Mr Irwin's heart is believed to have been pierced, and he died almost immediately.

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